If coaches had crystal balls,would it help them win the big one?

Sure. But coaches say the next best thing is preparing for all possibilities.
by: Steve Silverman
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Matt Cavanaugh's eyes were red - almost blood shot. The Baltimore Raven offensive coordinator was meeting with the media for the last time before his team would take the field against the N.Y. Giants in Super Bowl XXXV and he looked worn out and emotionally overwrought.

But looks can be deceiving. It wasn't emotions that made Cavanaugh look like he'd been on an all night crying jag. His eyes were swollen from staring at hours and hours of the Giants on videotape.

"I've looked at the tape," Cavanaugh said with more than a little understatement. "I think we have a pretty good idea of what to expect from their defense. It's just a matter of going out and executing it now."

The extra week between the AFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl gives coaches like Cavanaugh time to look at every possibility their team could face and have their players prepared for every possible scenario. Afterall, they know better than anyone that not only a championship rests on their team's performance; so too do potential jobs.

A great performance by an offensive or defensive unit can give a college or NFL coordinator the chance to move up the ladder and become a head coach. On the other hand, a coordinator whose team fails in the clutch can see his name pushed to the back of the list when the subject of head-coaching candidates is broached.

In Cavanaugh's case, big-game preparation meant looking at hours and hours of game films and figuring out a way to give the Giants defense something it didn't expect. While the Ravens offense will never be remembered as a threat to Bill Walsh's old 49er teams, Cavanaugh was determined to show that the Ravens offense was not merely a unit that took the field when its record-setting defense needed a rest. There was more to their game than rookie running back Jamal Lewis slamming the ball between the tackles or tight end Shannon Sharpe making an occasional big play.

"We knew our wide receivers had been an afterthought in a lot of the pre-game talk, but we thought they would have the opportunities to make big plays and possibly surprise them. It was just a matter of giving (quarterback) Trent (Dilfer) the time and letting the match ups take care of themselves."

Cavanaugh's confidence in his wideouts paid off midway through the first quarter when Dilfer hit wide receiver Brandon Stokley with a 38-yard touchdown pass. Stokley beat Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn on an inside move and got behind him for the score.

The origin of the play had come in the pre-season when the two teams met in a supposedly meaningless contest. But in that game, Cavanaugh noted, the Ravens wideouts had gotten behind the Giants corners on a number of plays. "We felt we could beat them deep," Cavanaugh explained. "We had done it in the pre-season and we didn't see any reason to change our opinion."

Preparing for big games is an interesting dilemma. Whether it's at the high school, college or professional level, players are taught to give their best effort every time they step on the field. So how is it possible to step up the effort for a post-season game when top effort was demanded from the first scrimmage of the season?

"It's an interesting question," says Ravens defensive line coach Rex Ryan. "I've been thinking about it myself. It's just the way you said it. We've been demanding top effort from the first practice of the summer, so they can't give us any more. They obviously know how important this game (the Super Bowl) is and how important all the playoff games that preceded it were. But there are little things you can do. For example, we watch more film coming into this game than we normally do. Not just because there's another week of preparation, but we just don't want to miss a thing."

Oklahoma assistant head coach Mark Mangino is not a big believer in making changes in his team's preparation before big games. "We go about our business the exact same way no matter who we are playing," Mangino says. "We try not to change our preparation at all. We don't want our kids to get too caught up in the hype of the moment. We think we have to go about our business the same way.

"Now, none of us are living in a vacuum - so you can sometimes see a faster pace at our practice or a little more intensity in the weight room. But it's not because we're trying to emphasize our game plan any more than we would in any game we play."

Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez basically agrees with Mangino, but says he tries to give his best players an extra boost before critical games. "For the biggest games, I'll send messages to the team leaders," Alvarez says. "If you're going to win your bowl game or your biggest games of the season, that's generally because your best players play well in those games. I'll get in their ear a little bit and say something to them - something I hope will bring out their best effort."

Raven head coach Brian Billick earned his reputation as an offensive innovator by putting together the most powerful offense in the NFL with the 1998 Vikings. When big games approach - such as this year's post-season run - he will attempt to defuse the atmosphere by putting in one or two new plays that he may or may not use in a game.

"Players spend too much time worrying about a game and they can start thinking about mistakes," Billick says. "So what I'll do is give them something new to think about. I'll practice a brand new play - one they haven't seen before. I don't necessarily intend to use it in the game - but it will keep their minds sharp and prevent them from going over the same plays again and again and again."

Tampa Bay head coach Tony Dungy says the key is not going overboard. "If you're good enough to get into the playoffs, I think you should stick with the same kind of preparation that got you there in the first place and not change to dramatically," Dungy says. "You're going to emphasize a few things that you might not during a regular season game, but you don't want to overprepare. You want your players to play with confidence."

And watching film for hours so you think you know exactly what to expect won't guarantee success. Going into Super Bowl XXXV, Giants offensive coordinator Sean Payton had the formidable task of trying find a weakness in the brutally strong Ravens defense. Payton knew that it would be nearly impossible to run the ball against Baltimore since their defense was the No. 1 team in the league against the run. The Ravens had just come off a virtuoso performance when they gave up only 24 rushing yards against the Oakland Raiders - the No. 1 rushing team in the league - during the AFC Championship game.

"We have to challenge them on the perimeter," Payton said before the game. "We are going to ask our receivers to make big plays. At the same time, we are not going to forget about the run. They are very good against the run - no doubt about it - but we're not going to ignore our ground game either."

Payton had hoped to set up his running game with the pass. Late in the first half, it appeared the Giants might be able to do just that. Payton spread his offense out late in the second quarter with the Giants trailing 7-0. Quarterback Kerry Collins gave the ball to running back Tiki Barber on a draw play when the Ravens were expecting the pass, and the ultra-quick Barber gained 12 yards. During the next series after the Ravens had extended the lead to 10-0, Barber gained 27 yards on a similar draw.

"That was exactly what we were hoping to do," Barber said later. "From our film work before the game, you could not slug it out with them and hope to run. We felt that we would have to fool them to get our running game going. Going into the second half, we felt good about our chance of picking it up from where we left off. But they never let us do it again. You have to give them credit. They made terrific adjustments."

Those adjustments were made by Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, who was expected to be offered a head-coaching slot with either Cleveland or Buffalo shortly after the Super Bowl. Neither offer came, but that was more a reflection on the NFL's policy that prevents teams from talking to coaches whose teams are still alive than it was on Lewis' talents.

When it comes to head-coaching candidates, it's hard to imagine a more viable candidate than Lewis. Not only has he inspired the respect of his players and fellow coaches, he is a great communicator who is at ease with the media and is also a first-class teacher of the game.

At the pro level, Lewis believes that the teaching aspect of coaching can be overlooked. "That would never be the case if I get a chance to become a head coach in this league," Lewis says. "If I get the opportunity, the first thing I will do is make sure I hire (assistant) coaches who are great teachers."

Lewis' defensive team knew that the Giants would try to attack through the air. Lewis had gotten into the heads of his two cornerbacks - Duane Starks and Chris McAlister - and told them that their performance would have a huge outcome on the game.

"We figured the Giants were going to spread us out and come after us," Starks says. "We were prepared. Coach Lewis had let us know that they would try to throw on us. I think we showed we were ready."

McAlister registered an interception and Starks returned an errant Kerry Collins throw 49 yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter that gave the Ravens a nearly insurmountable 17-0 lead.

"I knew I had help behind me from the safeties," Starks says. "So I baited them by giving up some passes underneath. Then, when I saw my opportunity to break for the ball, I did it. I studied Collins for two weeks and I knew exactly what he was going to do when he took a three-step drop. He hops a little before he throws it. I saw him hop and I took off on it. I got a good read."

A good read that came not only from extra film study but from the fact that Starks' coaches had told him what to expect. After that, it was simply a matter of when the talented Starks would get a chance to make his big play - thanks in a large part to a coaching staff that knew how to prepare for a big game.

Steve Silverman is a national correspondent for College & Pro Football Newsweekly and has covered football for 20 years. He has won three writing awards from the Pro Football Writers of America.

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